Caishen is the god of wealth, one of the most popular deities of Chinese folk religion, worshipped by households and businesses alike in the hope of prosperity. His moment is the lunar new year: his image is put up, and his arrival is welcomed and celebrated in the belief that receiving the god of wealth at the turn of the year brings a prosperous twelve months to come, so that greeting Caishen is one of the most widespread of new-year customs. He is not a single fixed figure but a role that several deified personages have filled, and the tradition distinguishes a military god of wealth from a civil one.
The martial form is most often identified with Zhao Gongming, a fearsome general shown with a black face and a heavy beard, riding a black tiger and wielding an iron weapon, who commands subordinate gods of wealth and good fortune; the civil form is associated with figures such as the loyal minister Bi Gan. In this Caishen reflects a general feature of Chinese religion, in which historical or legendary human beings of notable virtue or power are raised after death to divine office. As the bestower of riches and good fortune, honoured in shops, homes and temples, Caishen expresses the frankly this-worldly hopes, for prosperity, success and a comfortable life, that run strongly through popular Chinese devotion, and his cheerful image remains among the most recognisable of all the folk gods.